China and the United States on Thursday started their annual high-level trade talks to address trade issues of mutual concern.

The China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) was established in 1983 as a government-to-government consultative mechanism for resolving trade concerns and pursuing bilateral commercial opportunities.

The JCCT was elevated to the deputy-premier level in 2004. Thursday's JCCT was co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

The JCCT has played a crucial role in promoting China-US trade, which has soared from less than 2.5 billion US dollars in 1979 to 333.7 billion US dollars in 2008.

The JCCT now includes a number of working groups to discuss specific trade issues during the year.